


Illusion

by Nyrandrea



Category: The Property of Hate
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Poor Hero just doesn't have a good time, Semi-Wholesome, and RGB tries to dad but he's not very good at it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-15 04:34:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16055654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyrandrea/pseuds/Nyrandrea
Summary: Hero longs to go back home and be with her parents again. But when that opportunity presents itself, not everything is as it seems.





	Illusion

Out of all the dreams she had, this had to be the best one yet.

A vast meadow spread out before her, flourishing with wild flowers of all sizes and colours, but even better was the fact that it was also teeming with insect life. From tiny ladybirds to large grasshoppers, it took everything in Hero not to cheer out in joy (in fear of scaring the bugs off, of course.)

To top it all off, the entire field was flooded in warm sunlight, though a gentle breeze kept it from getting too hot. It was just…perfect.

Sure, it wasn’t the most exciting dream. She wasn’t flying high in the sky or swimming deep underwater with the fishes, but there was something about this that just…reminded her of something. Something distant.

But more importantly, were the bugs.

Not wanting to waste any more time, the little girl set off into the field, determined to catch a new friend for herself. She decided to leave the tiny insects in fear of accidentally crushing them, the grasshoppers were too jumpy and the spiders, although super cool, were a little creepy. Hero frowned slightly, what else was there…?

Her frown instantly disappeared when a lone butterfly floated nearby.

_‘Perfect!’_ The girl thought as she crouched into a sneaking position and slowly started to creep up on it.

But alas, she wasn’t a good hunter.

The butterfly managed to float just out of Hero’s reach every time she tried to jump up and catch it, the little creature seemed to predict her every move, and was even so bold as to swoop down to her level before going back up high in the air again.

It was mocking her.

After a prolonged chase through the long grass, the little girl huffed and plopped down onto the ground.

“Fine. You win.” She admitted before crossing her arms, looking down in slight annoyance.

A small sigh escaped her lips as she reached over and plucked a few small daisies from the ground before settling the pile on her knee. Her eyes narrowed into a squint as she started the long, delicate process of making a daisy chain.

A soft breeze ran through the fields, bringing with it the scent of the surrounding flora. Hero closed her eyes and breathed it in, somehow…it reminded her of… home.

A small tickling sensation brought her attention back, and a huge grin formed on her face as a familiar little butterfly was now perched on her knee.

“Hey, you came back!”

The insect fluttered its glass-like wings in response.

“You want me to make you a daisy crown too?” Hero asked it before frowning, “You might be a little too small…”

_“I….e….ere….”_

“Huh?” Hero swivelled her head around at the sudden but distant sound.

“Hello?” The girl cautiously called out, not sure if she was just hearing things.

The whole meadow seemed to still as the wind slowed to a stop, and the bugs had disappeared into the grass, turning the vibrant atmosphere into one of a more dull and tense nature.

Her temporary butterfly friend had decided to leave as well as it fluttered away down the fields.

…Hero’s dreams had never felt like this before. It was empty, not fun anymore, part of her just wanted to wake up now.

_“I’m….here…”_

It was still quiet but much more prominent this time. The voice was beautifully melancholic, almost like it was singing. Yet…it sounded like someone she knew.

And it was coming from the south of the field.

Hero quickly got up and started to follow in its direction, the child’s instincts told her it was important, and she felt like she didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.

After what seemed like an eternity of trekking through the grass, she felt like she wasn’t getting anywhere. The voice had stopped calling out and…. honestly, she had no idea where she was now.

“Where _are_ you…?” Hero muttered to herself, a hint of frustration in her tone.

As if on cue, the same butterfly from before made yet another appearance, this time choosing to settle on the young girl’s nose.

“You again, huh?” She noted with a half-hearted smile, “Any idea what’s going on?”

The creature folded and spread it’s wings before taking off again, slowly floating off to the left before stopping, as if it were waiting for Hero to follow.

“You…want me to go with you?” She asked as she walked towards it, not entirely sure what the heck was going on anymore.

It silently took off once more, leading the child to what looked like a hill, an incredibly steep one at that.

Hero quizzically gazed up towards the top, but instantly came to regret it as she was blinded by light. Hero squinted and used her arm as a shield against the bright rays, she assumed it was the sun but…there was no warmth whatsoever coming from it.

The butterfly drifted up towards the peak, leaving Hero behind.

“Hey! Wait…a minute….” Her voice drifted to a stop as she noticed a silhouetted figure standing at the top of the hill, surrounded by hundreds of the very same butterfly Hero had been following.

The girl squinted her eyes against the light to try and see who it was. It didn’t look like any kind of monster, it looked like…a person?

A woman.

The silhouette finally made a move, opening its arms in an inviting manner, calling out to Hero with an unfamiliar name, yet it was one she knew all too well. Her eyes widened, despite the harsh light hurting them.

She stretched out an arm, wanting so desperately to run to her.

“…Mum?”

* * *

Hero jolted up with a yelp, tiny beads of sweat running down her face as she caught her breath, which she had been unconsciously holding in. She took a moment to look around her surroundings, noticing that she was back to…reality? Could she really say that in a place like this?

Regardless, the girl noticed that she was tightly clutching her make-shift blanket that was RGB’s suit jacket, so much so that her knuckles were turning deathly white. Her eyes glanced over to the nearby monster, who seemed to still be asleep, his screen fuzzy with black and white static.

Hero breathed a small sigh of relief, the last thing she wanted was to wake him up and make him go all cranky. 

Still…that was the weirdest dream yet. It seemed so real. And that person…

Hero hugged her chilly arms, rubbing her hands up and down them in a bid to warm up against the cold, her jumper helping a little as well. She hadn’t even really thought about her parents in some time now, what with being caught up in her adventure with RGB.

Or was it rather kidnapping? He had technically stolen her identity, but… she agreed to go with him. The whole thing was so confusing.

Her mind wandered back to the whole Click situation and what he had said.

_‘Murdered.’_

Hero shook her head, she didn’t want to think about that.

_‘I wonder how she is…’_ The girl pondered. Did her mum miss her? Was she looking for her? How much time had passed since they left? How does time even really _work_ around here?

Again, she shook her head, maybe she could ask RGB about it in the morning. A huge yawn escaped her mouth, and her eyelids began to droop ever so slightly.

It was still dark, probably best to go back to-

_“I’m….here….”_

Hero’s eyes snapped open and any traces of being tired zapped right out of her, she turned instantly towards the direction of the sound.

It was that voice again…!

“H-Hello?” She quietly called out, still not wanting to wake up RGB.

_“Hello….?”_ The melancholic voice repeated, softly echoing through the trees.

Hero slowly lifted RGB’s jacket off and stood up, transfixed on the dark forest path ahead, she couldn’t still be dreaming…right? She gazed over to RGB before looking ahead again, longing to follow what sounded like her mother.

Maybe she had somehow followed them to The World of Make Believe, maybe she somehow got here and was looking to bring Hero back to their home in Manchester. Was her dad here as well?

Or maybe…

Hero’s hopeful expression turned into one of a glum frown.

Maybe it wasn’t her.

_“Where are you…? My little girl…”_ The soft call held a hint of panic now, it sounded like she was lost or something. Every instinct within Hero was screaming at her to go, it had to be her mother, it just had to be!

Without any more hesitation, Hero fluffed up her jumper and checked her boots were securely fastened to her feet and set out into the forest to find her parent, calling out frantically.

Unsurprisingly, the dark woods were difficult to navigate, even more so without the voice calling out to her again, which would at least have given her a vague direction to follow. RGB had also warned her time and time again about how dangerous it was to be awake during these hours, but right now she just didn’t care, this could be her one and only chance of finally going home.

Her running was finally put to an end as a thick foliage blocked her path, forcing her to slow to a stop.

A dead end.

How was she supposed to go through this? Was she even going in the right direction anymore? Maybe it was time to turn back…

_“I’m here…so close…”_

“Mum? A…Are you in there?” Hero called out, grabbing onto the branches, “Are you trapped? I can get you out!”

A tiny gleam of light suddenly caught her eye, and she almost had to double-take when she saw the familiar glass-like wings of the same butterfly from her dream, resting on a single leaf.

Hero was completely dumbfounded at this point, was she still dreaming? Was none of this real?

Wanting to test this, the girl lifted her sleeve and pinched her arm, but to no avail as nothing seemed to have changed, except now her arm stung slightly. With a small sigh, she looked to the insect and narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the tiny bug.

“Is my mum through there? Is she hurt?” She asked, a small crack forming in her voice at the latter question.

The butterfly said nothing, choosing instead to once again flutter away, this time in the direction from where Hero came from. Almost as if it was warning her to go back.

_“Help…me…”_

No, she had come too far just to give up now. Besides, if her mum or…whatever was trapped in there, she had to help. She _was_ a hero, after all, and heroes were supposed to save people.

Thanks to her small size, squeezing through the foliage didn’t prove too difficult, though she had to break a few branches in the process, for which she apologized profusely for.

_“So…close…my daughter…”_

The voice was getting quieter, as if it were fading away, causing Hero to start panicking.

“Wait!” She shouted, trying to go faster, “I’m coming!”

With one final push she finally managed to break through the green foliage, accidentally tripping and rolling into a small clearing, barely illuminated by dappled light shining through the surrounding trees.

Hero rubbed her sore head after her rough landing before looking around the empty space.

“Mum…?” The little girl quietly called out, “Are you there?”

Only the wind gently ruffling the trees answered her.

“Is…Is _anybody_ there?”

A few more moments of silence followed, and Hero was starting to wonder if she was just somehow going crazy before a flicker of a shadow got her attention.

“Hello?” She tried very hard to keep the building fear out of her voice.

As the shadow walked out and formed out of the trees, a huge grin formed on Hero’s face, her eyes lighting up in both disbelief and utter joy.

“Mum…?”

Her mother gave a gentle smile, small tears forming around her eyes as she knelt down and opened up her arms for an embrace.

_“You found me!”_

Hero scrambled to her feet and dashed over to her, throwing herself into her parent’s arms and clutched onto her for dear life. She buried her face into the soft cardigan her mum always wore back home, taking in the faint scent of herbs and perfume.

“I missed you so much.” Hero said, her voice muffled as she hugged her even tighter, afraid that if this was still in fact a dream.

_“Shhhh…there, there…it’s going to be alright…. you’ll see…”_  Her mother cooed back, gently stroking her daughter’s ruffled hair.

Hero smiled and let out a big relieved sigh.

Yeah, everything was going to be fine now.

* * *

“Oh dear….”

A garbled groan came from RGB as his static screen flickered back to life, revealing his vibrant dripping mouth, which dipped into a frown.

The monster rubbed his head, he could feel a headache coming on from waking up so damn early, the sun hadn’t even made an appearance yet.

Funny. He had never woken up during these hours before, unless provoked by something.

“Oh, those bloody dreams again…” He sat up and forwarded an annoyed glance to where Hero was sleeping, “I thought I told you not to- Hero?”

He flinched slightly when he saw that the girl in question was not where she should be, and after a quick look around, he found that she was nowhere to be seen at all.

RGB stood up and stretched his stiff back before making his way over to where his jacket lay, the one Hero was using as a blanket, and picked it up. As he turned it over in his hands, he could still feel a bit of warmth radiating from it, she must have woken up not long before he did.

“Hero.” He firmly warned, “This is not the time nor the place to be playing Hide and Seek.”

He was answered with silence.

“I mean it, young lady. You must know how dangerous it can be to be awake at this time, I _must_ implore you to please…”

His voice trailed off as he noticed sets of footprints leading deeper into the dark forest.

_‘Why on earth would she-? Does she not know how dangerous it is to just wander off? Of all the stupid….’_

RGB’s mind went off into a tangent as he paced back and forth, yellow dripping prominently from his screen now.

On one hand, he could just go back and get another hero. He had done it countless times before but…he was running out of time. On the other hand, who knows what was in those woods, for all he knew, she could already be-

He shuddered at the thought. He didn’t know why but…there was something about the thought of this hero dying that…made his heart sink. Probably because she was so much more fragile than the others, being a child and all.

Yet she had proven to be quite resilient, what with avoiding death on numerous occasions and… actually coming up with some pretty solid ideas on how to progress in their story, overcoming all sorts of obstacles that even he had found difficult to solve.

Yes, she was…quite a bright little thing.

RGB gazed back into the forest with a sombre look.

Yet she was silly enough to just go traipsing through the woods for God knows what reason. What could that child possibly be _thinking?_

Perhaps there was more to it. But the more important question was; should he really go risk life and limb to go look for her? Or just leave and start over again?

There were more cons to the former question than the latter.

“Oh, damn it all…”

The monster shoved on his jacket, grabbed his trusty cane, and quickly set off into the forest before he could change his mind.

* * *

“But…h-how did you get here? Does…does dad know?” Hero stuttered, still in a bit of shock at the fact that her mother was here.

_“All that matters…is that we’re together again.”_ The older woman answered, stroking Hero’s cheek with her thumb. _“Now we can go home.”_

Yeah…she was right, that was all that mattered. They were going to go back to Manchester, where her father and guinea pigs were waiting. She was going to be with her family again.

Though…something still niggled at the back of her mind.

“How did you know where to find me? This place is huge!” Hero exclaimed, pausing her hugging to look up into her mum’s face.

The woman smiled.

_“I’ll tell you all about it when we go home…come along.”_

She stood back up and gently took Hero by the hand, smiling at her as she began to lead the child back towards the trees.

_“There is a shortcut through here…this way-“_

“Wait.”

Her mother gave Hero a slightly befuddled look, _“What is it, my dear?”_

“I…” The little girl looked a little sheepish as she shuffled a little, “I have to say goodbye to someone.”

_“Oh…?”_ A look of slight annoyance flashed briefly across her face, _“Who might that be?”_

“His uh…his name’s RGB.” Hero smiled and tugged at her hand, “He’s helped me a lot through our journey and he’s really cool! Kinda grumpy and confusing but he has an awesome cane thing that can-“

_“No.”_ The woman interrupted.

“Huh? But…I think you’d really like to meet him-“

_“We do not have a lot of time, the creatures here are dangerous, we must leave.”_

“Oh….” Hero visibly deflated. “I just thought-“

_“Do you not want to go home? To be with your family?”_

“Y-yeah! ‘Course I do!” The girl exclaimed nervously, “He’ll understand, right?”

_“Of course, my dear.”_ Her mother confirmed with a sweet smile before leading on once more.

Hero looked back again with a guilty expression, she didn’t feel like much of a saviour by just running back home but…her mum was right, she needed to go back to where she belonged.

He would understand…

“Hero!” A voice called out, causing the girl to stop once again and look behind her.

Was that…?

As if on cue, the bushes rustled slightly before RGB came crashing through, ungracefully landing on his hands and knees as he pushed through the foliage.

“Oh bloody Hell…” The monster muttered as he brushed himself off, “Would you look at this mess…?”

“RGB?” Hero blinked in surprise.

“There you are!” He looked up with a grin before it quickly turned into a scowl, “What on earth were you thinking? Wandering off…into…”

He trailed off as he slowly looked up at the woman that was accompanying the little girl, who gave him a steely cold look in exchange.

“Hero.” He stated, trying his best not to sound nervous, “Hero, you must come over here. Quickly now.” RGB ordered her as he cautiously stood up.

“O-oh, you don’t need to worry!” Hero tried to put him at ease before grinning up to her mother, “This is my mum! She came here to get me. She uh…wants to take me home.”

“No, Hero. That is not your mother, it is an Illusion. It disguises itself to trick it’s prey, you _must_ come here. Now.”

The woman in question sneered slightly before looking down to Hero, keeping a tight hold of her hand.

_“We do not have a lot of time, little one. We must go.”_ She urged.

“Huh…?” Hero was utterly confused as she looked back and forth between the two, she looked back to RGB, “But…she wants to take me back home…” She said in a small voice.

“No, that thing wants to devour you, and if you don’t come over here right now, it will-!“ He quickly stopped himself as he noticed Hero flinching, inching towards the creature who was now gently caressing her hair.

He mentally scolded himself, he kept forgetting he was dealing with a child, and right now that thing was appealing to her more than he was. He would have to try a more patient tactic.

Easier said than done when their lives were on an incredibly thin line.

“Hero…” He started again, his voice much softer this time, “If that _was_ your mother, I would have no qualms about letting you go back home. Quite frankly, I wouldn’t blame you.”

Hero slowly but guiltily looked back up at him.

“But please…just this once…trust me.” He said, not really knowing what else to say. All he could now was wait for her decision.

Hero seemed to pause on his words before looking back up to the lady, who smiled once again.

_“My dear, we must be going now-“_

“My name.” Hero interrupted.

Her parent blinked and tilted her head slightly.

_“Pardon?”_

“What’s my name? My real one.” Hero asked, a hint of desperation in her voice.

_“…”_

After a few moments of silence, Hero yanked her hand away before stumbling back, a look of anger starting to form on her face.

“What is it?!” She shouted, resulting in a small snarl from the older female.

RGB held out a hand, “H-Hero, you really shouldn’t provoke that thing…”

But it was too late, the creature dropped it’s disguise and shifted into something much more monstrous. It’s body became less flesh and more liquidised and grew much larger in size, it’s mouth sprouted rows of fangs, dripping with drool as it eyed up it’s still potential prey.

Hero could only look up in both awe and complete horror, her body stiffened in what could only be described as raw fear as she watched her own mother shaping and shifting into…into…

But before the creature could snap it’s jaws into her, she felt an all too familiar curved piece of wood yank her away into the awaiting arms of RGB, who caught her with ease before tucking her under one arm and making a beeline for the woods.

An ear-splitting screech echoed throughout the trees behind them as RGB sprinted back onto the worn-down path, taking them back to where they were once camping.

After nearly five minutes of running, the creature’s roars seemed to die down.

“We always seem to attract the wrong crowd, eh?” RGB joked in a light-hearted tone as he slowed down to a jog, “Doesn’t seem to be following us though.”

Hero said nothing as she was set back down to the ground, choosing instead to swallow a dry lump that had formed in her throat.

“That’s the thing about Illusions, see.” The monster continued as he brushed himself off, “They like to trick and trap their food, not really ones for chasing and hunting and all that.”

“Oh.” The girl answered, not really listening.

“Still, we can’t stay here. Come along, let’s see if we can find somewhere at least a little safer to rest, hm?”

“Ok.”

RGB frowned slightly at the lack of response from Hero, but led on nonetheless.

“Did it hurt you?” He asked, offering her his cane.

“…No. I’m fine.” She stained a smile as she took it, holding onto it with a firmer grip than usual.

“Hm.” He conceded. A period of silence followed as they walked through the woods, both of them still keeping a wary eye out for anymore possible threats.

“Might I ask…” RGB started, pausing for a moment to think of the right wording for his question.

“What?” Hero bluntly said, raising an eyebrow.

“What woke you up? Was that creature calling to you?”

“Uh…well yeah, it did.” She admitted, “But that’s not what woke me up.”

“Oh?” The monster turned his head to look down at her, a hint of magenta dripping from his colour palette.

“I had a dream about her.”

“…Oh.”

RGB frowned slightly before Hero piped up again.

“I didn’t even really know if it was her.”

This certainly piqued his interest.

“How so?”

Hero looked down for a moment, “Well…I thought it was but…I don’t think I remember what she looks like. I just sorta…believed it was her. Because she said so.” She paused, “I guess I just wanted it to be her, if that makes sense?”

“It does.” RGB confirmed with a sullen tone. “Like I said, that’s how they trick you. Illusions are incredibly powerful creatures, certainly not be trifled with…”

“But…why were you awake?” Hero asked. “You were sleeping when I left.”

“Ah…well…” The monster noticed a cave nearby, resulting in a wide grin forming on his screen, “There we go! Finally, a spot of luck. Come along, Hero.”

“Oh…ok.” She mumbled, deciding to drop the matter.

After a fair bit of climbing, they finally made it to the cave. It was dark but more importantly, it was uninhabited and dry. Ideal for sleeping the rest of the night away without anymore hindrances.

“Ah…how lovely.” RGB muttered as he kicked away a few moss-covered pebbles to make way for a sleeping space, “At least it’s fairly safe.”

Once again, Hero chose not to answer. Instead she plopped herself down to the ground and flexed the hand that she had used to hold onto the Illusion, the girl sighed slightly before gazing up to RGB, who was still talking away to himself.

“Are you not mad?” Hero bluntly asked, interrupting him.

“…No, of course not.” RGB said with a small grin, “No harm done, could have easily have happened to anyone.”

“But…I was gonna…if it was her…” Hero stuttered slightly, her eyes were starting to sting slightly with the salt of fresh tears, but she tried her best to hold them in.

“You were going to leave, yes?”

The little girl nodded.

“Well, it’s like I said. I would have hardly blamed you.” The monster said, laying down his cane. “I probably would have if I were in your shoes.”

“Really?” Hero asked, a little surprised.

“Oh yes. Trust me, I don’t find any of this a walk in the park either. I would gladly drop it all if I could.”

“But…I should have…heroes don’t run away. They’re not supposed to get scared. They’re supposed to be…all heroic and…stuff.”

RGB couldn’t help but chuckle a little at that, though he didn’t know if it was out of bitterness or nervousness. Probably both.

“My dear, being ‘heroic and stuff’ doesn’t mean you go about sizing up to monsters and slaying them to save the day. Sometimes running away is the best option. Or your only one.”

Hero found his words a tad comforting, but there was still one thing that bothered her.

“But a hero shouldn’t be tricked like that. I should have known better. I…”

A single tear managed to escape and made it’s way down her cheek as she lifted up her legs and hugged her knees.

“I should have known…it wasn’t her.”

RGB went silent at that, his usual witty mind couldn’t come up with anything to reassure her. Comforting was never usually his forte, especially where children were concerned.

Still…he had to try. After everything he had put her through…he owed her at least a few words of consolation.

“Hero…” He vented a sigh and walked over, kneeling down to her level, “What happened was not your fault, you were simply confused, that’s all.”

The kid huffed slightly in response.

“Illusions shape-shift into what you want to see the most.” He continued, “You wanted to see your mother.”

Slowly, she nodded.

“I’ve been tricked before too, you know.” He admitted with a light-hearted smile.

“Really? But…you’re so smart about this stuff.” Hero said, tilting her head slightly.

“Ah yes, but I wasn’t always.”

“Who did you see?” She asked curiously.

“That’s…besides the point.” He stammered, quickly moving on, “My point is…it’s ok to make mistakes, it’s ok to be scared and…it’s ok to miss someone you love. It’s only natural.” He finished.

“Even if you can’t remember what they look like?”

A dribble of blue dripped from his screen, “Yes…even then.”

Hero pondered this for a moment before adding, “Doesn’t make me a very good hero though, does it.” She stated, looking down and rubbing at her eyes.

“On the contrary,” He said in a more light-hearted tone and an up-turned grin, “You have been a stellar hero so far.” He gently lifted her chin and playfully booped her small nose with a gloved finger, “And I don’t just say that to anyone.”

“Wow, really?” She asked in awe as a huge smile formed on her face.

“Yes, really. But we must try and regain some sleep now.” RGB took off his jacket and draped it over the girl, “We still have a long journey ahead of us.”

Before he could make his way to the other wall of the cave, Hero tugged at his wrist.

“…Thanks.” She said with a small, sleepy grin.

He froze for a moment at the heartfelt tone, but slowly smiled back and gave her hair a little tousle.

“You’re quite welcome, my dear.”

With that, Hero quickly fell into a deep slumber again, it wasn’t going to be long until her dreams were going to physically manifest again. Going against his usual protocol of getting away from her before she dreamed, he decided to sit with her for a little while. Just to make sure that creature or anything else wouldn’t appear out of the blue to attack them.

His hand once again found it’s way to the top of Hero’s head, though instead of a quick ruffle, he made sure to be a little more slow and gentle, as not to wake her up.

With a sigh, he let his mind wander a bit. A lone butterfly fluttered nearby, it’s glass wings beautifully reflecting the light of the moon.

…He really did miss him.

**Author's Note:**

> So hey I freaking love TPoH and really wanted to write something for it and honestly RGB just needs to admit that Hero is his adopted daughter now. So hey if you want to see anymore angst/fluff one-shots with these two, let me know! Could maybe do one for a certain Neggy boi? :3c


End file.
